Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia driver hints at next‑gen DLSS 5 work
Nvidia’s GeForce Game Ready driver 610.47 adds three new profile options—Enable DLSS NR override, Enable DLSS NR SL override, and Override DLSS NR presets—suggesting continued development of DLSS 5 neural‑rendering technology. The earlier DLSS 5 reveal had sparked debate over AI‑driven image alteration, and the new driver hints at a quiet but ongoing effort.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cyient Semiconductors raises $30M Series A
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Is $400 Off Right Now
Google’s flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL has slashed its price to $699, a $400 discount from the $1,099 launch price, but the deal is limited to the hazel color. The device packs 16 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, a 6.8‑inch 120 Hz display and runs Android 14 with Google’s Gemini AI now more refined. Released in August 2024, the phone offers a larger form factor than the standard Pro while retaining a slimmer profile than earlier XL models. Google also guarantees up to seven years of software updates, reinforcing its long‑term value proposition.
Exhibitor Viewpoint: OBSBOT at NAB Show 2026
OBSBOT, the AI‑camera specialist, is headlining the 2026 NAB Show with its flagship Tail 2 4K live‑production camera and a preview of the upcoming Talent 2 all‑in‑one production system. The company will demonstrate a hands‑on podcast studio, a green‑screen zone for virtual...
ASUS Armoury Driver Supports A Few More Laptops With Linux 7.0
The Linux 7.0 kernel, slated for release this Sunday, now incorporates the updated ASUS Armoury driver. The driver adds support for three recent ASUS models—the TUF Gaming A16 2024, ROG Zephyrus G16 2024, and ROG Flow X13 2023—expanding Linux’s compatibility with high‑performance gaming...
GE HealthCare, Medtronic Integrate Intraoperative Ultrasound System and Surgical Navigation System
GE HealthCare announced that its bkActiv intraoperative ultrasound system is now digitally integrated with Medtronic’s Stealth AXiS surgical navigation platform. The plug‑and‑play solution provides real‑time ultrasound imaging alongside pre‑operative MRI or CT, helping surgeons address brain shift during cranial procedures....
Siemens Accelerates AI Chip Verification to Trillion‑cycle Scale with NVIDIA Technology
Siemens and NVIDIA announced that Siemens’ Veloce proFPGA CS hardware‑assisted verification platform can capture tens of trillions of pre‑silicon design cycles in just a few days. The breakthrough combines Siemens’ scalable FPGA‑based architecture with NVIDIA’s performance‑optimized chip designs, dramatically accelerating AI/ML system‑on‑chip...
Intel: In-House Fabrication and Market Challenges
Intel continues to manufacture its chips in‑house, a rare model among major semiconductor firms, while facing mounting competition from fabless rivals like TSMC, AMD, and Samsung. The loss of Apple as a customer in 2020 and a delayed Ohio megafab,...
Even Nvidia’s Own Research Teams Can’t Get Enough GPUs Amid the Race for AI Computing Power
Nvidia’s own research groups are scrambling for GPUs, highlighting a sector‑wide shortage of the $30,000‑plus chips that power AI model training. At the HumanX conference, applied‑deep‑learning lead Bryan Catanzaro confirmed that even internal teams must fight for compute allocations. The scarcity...
If You've Been Waiting for a Lenovo Legion Go 2 Price Drop, Bad News: The Exact Opposite Has Happened
Lenovo’s handheld gaming PC, the Legion Go 2, saw its price jump to $1,999.99 at Best Buy, up from the $1,099.99 launch price of the Ryzen Z2 variant. The premium model now costs nearly $2,000, while the more affordable version rose to $1,499.99, making...
Thursday April 9, 2026 — Field Note
Boston Scientific’s Watchman FLX left‑atrial appendage closure device demonstrated non‑inferiority to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) on a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, stroke and systemic embolism in the CHAMPION‑AF trial presented at ACC.26 and published in NEJM, and it achieved...
FDA’s 2026 General Wellness Policy and What It Means for Manufacturers of Wearable Devices
The FDA finalized its General Wellness Policy for low‑risk devices on Jan. 6, 2026, setting clear criteria that wearable products can avoid medical‑device regulation if they are limited to general‑wellness purposes and pose low safety risk. The guidance follows a July 2025 warning...
Meta Expands CoreWeave Deal to $21 Billion as AI Cloud Demand Grows
Meta has expanded its agreement with AI‑focused cloud provider CoreWeave to a $21 billion, ten‑year contract running through 2032, securing large‑scale GPU clusters for training and inference. The deal comes as Meta ramps up its AI infrastructure spending, targeting more than...
The Movie Poster Gets a Makeover: Samsung’s Spatial Signage Wants to Stop You in Your Tracks
Samsung unveiled Spatial Signage, an 85‑inch glasses‑free 3D display that uses a patented lenticular 3D Plate to project depth without headsets. The ultra‑thin unit mounts flush to a wall, freeing valuable lobby floor space and enabling immersive, interactive advertising at...
Samsung’s Base Galaxy S26 Is Popular, with a Boost in Production Amid Budget Phone Cuts
Samsung announced a production boost for its Galaxy S26 lineup, raising April output to 3 million units from the previously planned 2.4 million. The base S26 model saw the largest increase, adding 500,000 units, while the Ultra gained 200,000 and the S26+ was...
AWS Delivers High-Performance NFS Access with S3 Files
Amazon Web Services introduced S3 Files, a service that presents S3 buckets as an NFS 4.1 file system, giving high‑performance, low‑latency file access to data stored in object storage. The offering targets HPC and AI workloads that need POSIX semantics without...
TP-Link Launches Extremely Low-Cost TL-7DR3600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router
TP‑Link has launched the TL‑7DR3600, a dual‑band Wi‑Fi 7 router priced at $23, positioning it as the cheapest entry‑level model on the market. The device uses five AI‑driven “pixel” antennas and a Starlight chipset to deliver core Wi‑Fi 7 features such as...
‘Unauthorized APK Installation Detected’ Message Blocks All Sideloading on Fire TVs, but It’s Not What You Think
Amazon’s device‑protection team has deployed a warning that blocks all APK sideloading on certain Fire TV units, displaying the message “Unauthorized APK installation detected.” The alert targets internal test devices to stop performance‑benchmark apps from leaking unreleased hardware specs. Regular...
EIZO Introduces ColorEdge CS3200X 31.5-inch 4K Creator Monitor
Japanese display maker EIZO launched the ColorEdge CS3200X, a 31.5‑inch 4K UHD monitor targeting professional photographers, video editors, and digital creators. The panel offers 99% Adobe RGB and 96% DCI‑P3 coverage, HDR support through HLG and PQ, and a 10‑bit/16‑bit...
IQM Announces 1st US Quantum Technology Center in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District
IQM Quantum Computers, a Finnish leader in superconducting quantum computing, announced the opening of its first U.S. Quantum Technology Center in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District. The center is part of Maryland’s Capital of Quantum initiative, a five‑year, $1 billion...
These AI Glasses Switch Between ChatGPT and Gemini. They're Better Than Meta, but Not Great Yet
Rokid’s AI glasses, now on sale for $279, let users toggle between ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini through a companion app, a flexibility Meta’s $379 Ray‑Ban Gen 2 lacks. Unlike Meta’s glasses, which lock users into a proprietary AI ecosystem and raise...
Origami-Inspired Robot Built From Printable Polymers Uses Electric Current to Move
Engineers at Princeton have built a soft‑rigid hybrid robot using 3D‑printed liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) hinges and embedded flexible printed circuit boards. The robot moves by localized heating of the polymer, eliminating the need for motors or external pneumatic systems....
Nvidia N1 Engineering Sample Motherboard Leak Shows 128GB LPDDR5X Configuration
Nvidia’s upcoming N1 ARM‑based processor was spotted on a Chinese marketplace as an engineering‑sample motherboard, indicating early validation of the chip for thin‑and‑light devices. The board packs eight LPDDR5X modules for a total of 128 GB memory running at 8533 MT/s, and...
PS5 Price Hike Hits Japan Hard as PS5 Pro Sales Sink to Xbox Levels
Sony’s April 2 price increase in Japan raised the disc‑based PS5 to about $612 and the PS5 Pro to $862, widening the gap with the language‑locked digital edition at $562. In the week ending April 5, Famitsu recorded only 840 PS5 Pro units sold—similar...
Samsung’s New Galaxy A37 and A57 Are Now on Sale in the US From $449 with Free Case
Samsung has launched its budget‑focused Galaxy A37 and A57 smartphones in the United States, priced at $449 and $549 respectively. Both models share a 50 MP triple‑camera system, Exynos processors (1480 for the A37, 1680 for the A57) and six years of...
ARRI and SmallHD Just Teamed Up to Fix One of Focus Pullers’ Biggest On-Set Headaches
ARRI and SmallHD have launched a new Monitor Overlay License for the ARRI Hi‑5 and Hi‑5 SX hand units, enabling on‑screen lens data overlays directly on SmallHD monitors. The license displays focus, iris, focal length, and FocusBug CineRT information in customizable...
Envision Unveils 12.5 MWh BESS, Begins 790 Ah Cell Output
Envision announced the launch of a 12.5 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and the start of production for a 790 Ah lithium‑iron‑phosphate (LFP) cell at the ESIE 2026 expo in Beijing. The AI‑energy‑systems platform bundles battery cells, power conversion, energy‑management software, SCADA...
Riverlane Demonstrates Real-Time QEC Latency Performance Advancements
Riverlane unveiled its second‑generation Deltaflow 2 quantum error‑correction system, reporting a mean real‑time decoding latency of 16.32 µs—about four times lower than Google’s 2024 Willow benchmark. The platform also achieved a maximum sub‑shot latency tenfold better than prior records, edging toward the...
TIA Advances AI‑Ready Data Centers With ANSI/TIA‑942 Addendum
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is rolling out an AI‑focused addendum to the ANSI/TIA‑942 data‑center standard, slated for release in mid‑2027, to address the unique power, cooling, and cabling demands of high‑density GPU clusters. TIA also continues its global ANSI/TIA‑942...
USC Installs Daktronics LED Displays Across Four Athletics Venues
USC has partnered with Daktronics to install 22 high‑definition LED displays across its LA Memorial Coliseum, Galen Center, Dedeaux Field and Rawlinson Stadium, completing the rollout in 2025. The Coliseum’s new 40‑by‑150‑foot screen boasts over 5 million LEDs, a 238% size...
Medline Recalls Millions of Devices Due to Safety Risk—FDA Threatens ‘Regulatory Action’ in Warning Letter
Medline, an Illinois‑based medical supplier that went public in December 2025, is recalling more than 4 million NAMIC angiographic control syringes and over 1 million procedure kits because of a loose‑connection defect that can cause air embolism or clinician exposure. The FDA...
AirPods Max 2: Incremental Upgrades, Familiar Flaws Remain
Apple's AirPods Max 2 headphones are better than the company's original pair, but are far too familiar considering how long it's been. Better noise cancellation. Slightly improved sound. Same old downsides. Here's my Bloomberg review (free-to-read gift link): https://tinyurl.com/2mkm3ehp
Intel's EMIB-T Packaging Technology Set for Fab Rollout This Year — as TSMC CoWoS Capacity Remains Limited,EMIB-T Is Preparing for...
Intel announced that its next‑generation EMIB‑T advanced‑packaging technology will enter fab production this year, positioning the company to capture AI‑accelerator demand as TSMC’s CoWoS‑L capacity stays oversubscribed. EMIB‑T adds through‑silicon vias to the existing embedded bridge, enabling HBM4‑class power delivery...
H55 Delivers Certifiable Battery Modules to BRM Aero for Electric Aircraft Trainer Program
H55 has delivered certifiable battery modules to BRM Aero for its electric trainer, the Bristell B23 Energic. The modules meet aviation certification standards, allowing the program to move into mechanical integration and aircraft‑level validation. First aircraft deliveries are planned for...
NXP Expands Arteris NoC Deployment to Scale Edge AI Architectures
NXP announced an expanded deployment of Arteris’s NoC and cache‑coherent IP suite—including FlexNoC®, Ncore®, CodaCache® and the Magillem® integration platform—across its upcoming edge‑AI silicon. The move targets the growing need for deterministic latency, high bandwidth, and safety‑critical isolation in heterogeneous...
Taming Skyrmions: Atom-Thin Magnets Point to Ultra-Dense, Low-Power Memory
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory used cryogenic Lorentz transmission electron microscopy to directly image magnetic domains and skyrmion evolution in atom‑thin Fe₃GeTe₂ (FGT). The study shows that sample thickness and applied magnetic field precisely control skyrmion size, density, and reversal...
Rising Memory Costs Threaten AI ROI and Market Confidence
While we talk about memory prices 📈, and while that is true (great for memory names), I am worried about what this does to capex costs and in return on AI $$. If the cost to serve AI goes...
Nvidia Invests In CPU Chip Startup SiFive
Nvidia disclosed a strategic stake in SiFive, the RISC‑V processor startup, as part of a $400 million oversubscribed financing round that values SiFive at $3.65 billion. The new capital will accelerate SiFive’s development of custom RISC‑V CPUs and AI IP aimed at...
Revolutionary Silicon Anode Battery Technology for Drones & Robotics
Silicon‑nanotech firm Sila Nanotechnologies has joined Unmanned Systems Technology’s supplier ecosystem as a Platinum Partner, offering its Titan Silicon anode for lithium‑ion batteries. The anode delivers up to five times the gravimetric energy and twice the volumetric capacity of conventional...
Energy Vault Acquires 850 MW BESS Project Portfolio to Enter Japan’s Energy Storage Market
Energy Vault announced the acquisition of an 850 MW battery energy storage systems (BESS) portfolio in Japan, marking its formal market entry. The deal comprises 350 MW of advanced‑stage projects slated for construction in the second half of 2027 and commercial operation...
Anker Solix Launches 7 kWh Plug-In Battery Targeting Rooftop Solar Retrofits
Anker Solix introduced the Solarbank Max AC, a 7 kWh plug‑in home battery with a 3.5 kW bidirectional inverter that can be expanded to 42 kWh. Priced from €2,229 ($2,657) in Germany, it targets retrofitting existing rooftop PV systems without replacing the whole...
How to Use an External Hard Drive to Store PS5 Games
PlayStation 5 owners can expand limited internal storage by using an external SSD for “cold storage” of PS5 titles, though games must be moved back to the console to play. The process involves formatting the drive, connecting it to a SuperSpeed...
Tenstorrent Launches $9,999 AI Workstation with 384 GB RAM
New Tenstorrent AI workstations are expected to cost US $9,999, with 384 GB of memory, designed to run cutting-edge AI models at your desk. @Nvidia has released its own AI workstation with 748 GB. https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-workstation-looks-like-pcs
Nvidia N
Alleged images of the long-awaited Nvidia N1/N1X SoC surface on laptop motherboard — board features 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory alongside 8+6+2 phase VRM https://t.co/fFeae7JJ8r
Apple Worst, Asus Best for Laptop Repairability
The US PIRG Education Fund’s fifth Failing to Fix survey ranks Asus as the most repairable laptop brand, though its score slipped from the previous year, while Apple earned the lowest C‑minus rating. Dell, HP and Lenovo sit in the middle...
Amazon's Kindle Purge May Repeat Sonos' Costly Error
Amazon is about to kill off almost a dozen Kindles, and it might be making the same mistake that tripped up Sonos for years. https://t.co/oCfm8K8KJm
Accelerator Mismatch Turns Datacenters Into
Historically this doesn’t work In chips we call it dead silicon Predicting dead datacenter Ratioing accelerators to the main computer is fragile Models change, size changes and you have a brick Possibly $$$
MacBook Neo: Windows' Best Innovation in Years
I'm officially back at work, so that means a new issue of my Notepad 📒 newsletter. This week I lay out why I think the MacBook Neo is the best thing to happen to Windows in years. Live now for...
Liquid Cooling Unlocks AI-Scale Compute Capacity
Part 2 of the future of the datacenter series. 800 vDC + liquid cooling becomes a co-design situation with compute infra decisions. The key is the compute capacity it unlocks. Liquid Cooling: The Thermal Prerequisite for AI Infrastructure...
CPU Designs Race Ahead, yet Trail AI Breakthroughs
Processor architectures are evolving faster than ever, but they still lag the pace of AI development https://t.co/KPtUjyF6PQ #processors #CPU @Arm #AgenticAI @Synopsys @unisouthampton @arteris_noc @quadric_io #NPU @Keysight @Cadence @AlphaDesignAI https://t.co/3Nu81L1qgc
Pick the Right Tool: ReMarkable, iPad, or Paper
Should I go w/ a reMarkable 2, iPad, or stick to pen and paper for enterprise sales meetings?
Langsdom AirWave Max: Good Features, Notable Flaws
There's lots to like about the Langsdom AirWave Max Open Ear Sports Headphones, but there were some significant issues I experienced too, rather disappointingly. Here's the scoop: https://t.co/233vmudphH #headphones #openear #sports https://t.co/SH0gj2EBZO